Yoga Health Benefits

Once I found yoga, health finally found me!

Funny, but growing up I always thought of health as those pictures of bulging muscles and chiseled pecs that you see on the cover of glossy fitness magazines. 'Health' and physical 'body fitness', to me, were the same thing.

... I played sports, exercised regularly, even with a fury at times, yet when I think back on those years long ago, I remember that I couldn’t even touch my own toes! That’s right, a yogi today, but as a fit, young and spry athlete, I was stiffer than a board!...

Needless to say, yoga loosened me up in more ways than one… and over the years it taught me what real health was all about.

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Health Benefits of Yoga Continued ...

Yoga Health – Mind Body and Soul

The image of yoga today is often as little more than a system of weird-looking exercises that perhaps give new meaning to the phrase “tying yourself up in knots”. But, as you’ve been discovering throughout the pages of this website, yoga is much more than just a form of exercise, and yoga health extends far beyond the physical body.

… In fact, yoga shows us that we are multi-layered beings - with interconnected physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions - and we cannot have health on one layer without having it on all the others too.

But for the average person, most of the yoga health benefits, especially in the beginning, are experienced at the physical level. This is certainly not a bad thing. In fact, for most people, it’s a wonderful thing!

What Are Some Yoga Health Benefits?

Yoga has profound effects on health. Of this you can be certain! Its practice helps to reduce stress, which is the number one cause of disease. Yoga also aids in detoxification while strengthening and supporting many of the physiological functions of the body.

… What else?

• Yoga helps normalize blood pressure and improves cardiovascular efficiency
• It Improves circulation
• Relieves muscle tension and improves flexibility
• It strengthens and tones the nervous system
• Increases physical strength and stamina
• Yoga benefits spinal health and improves posture
• It strengthens, lubricates and rehabilitates the joints, improving range of motion and function
• Many yoga postures provide massage to the internal organs, stimulate the glands and enhance endocrine functions
• Yoga boosts the immune system
• It improves skin tone and complexion
• Increases lung capacity and Improves breathing efficiency
• Yoga improves digestion and excretory functions
• Increase energy levels
• Normalizes body weight and provides great conditioning for weight loss
• The practice of yoga improves sleep
• It enhances immunity
• combats anxiety and depression

...and the list goes on.


Want more of a medical analysis of the yoga health benefits? The practice of yoga has been shown to decrease excess glucose as well as sodium levels. It also decreases LDL and VLDL (bad) cholesterol, while at the same time increasing HDL (good) cholesterol. Yoga also has been shown to increase hemoglobin production, thyroxine and lymphocyte count, among several other biochemical advantages...

In short, yoga not only improves health in so many ways, but its practice is also is a powerful preventative medicine.

But all of these physical benefits are really just a ‘side effect’ on the yoga health front. What other benefits does yoga have in store for you?...



NEXT:  Yoga Stress Relief - beat stress the yogic way

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